Q.- We are struggling with how we are to know when dependents turn 26 and lose coverage under our health plan. Are we required to track dependent ages and provide COBRA notices to dependents turning 26?
A.- It is the employee’s responsibility to notify their employer when their child ages out of the plan.
This is why the COBRA general notice (initial rights notice) is so important. The COBRA initial rights notice should be provided to an employee (and spouse, if applicable) when an employee enrolls in a plan subject to COBRA. This document outlines the responsibility of both the employer and employee. One of the items specifically stated in the Dept of Labor’s model notice is “For all other qualifying events (divorce or legal separation of the employee and spouse or a dependent child’s losing eligibility for coverage as a dependent child), you must notify the Plan Administrator within 60 days [or enter longer period permitted under the terms of the Plan] after the qualifying event occurs.”
Employers that use BAS’ Cobra Control Services for COBRA administration can issue Initial Rights Notices to new enrollees directly from MyEnroll360.
Benefit Allocation Systems (BAS) provides best-in-class, online solutions for: Employee Benefits Enrollment; COBRA; Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs); Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs); Leave of Absence Premium Billing (LOA); Affordable Care Act Record Keeping, Compliance & IRS Reporting (ACA); Group Insurance Premium Billing; Property & Casualty Premium Billing; and Payroll Integration.
MyEnroll360 can Integrate with any insurance carrier for enrollment eligibility management (e.g., Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Aetna, United Health Care, Kaiser, CIGNA and many others), and integrate with any payroll system for enrollment deduction management (e.g., Workday, ADP, Paylocity, PayCor, UKG, and many others).
